City of Vancouver abandons Kitsilano social housing development

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that a City of Vancouver bylaw was found unconstitutional by the BC Court of Appeal. In fact, it was provincial legislation that was found unconstitutional. The story has been updated.

A coalition of community members in Kitsilano says that the City of Vancouver has withdrawn its efforts to develop a social housing project at a Kitsilano site.

“The city-owned site at 7th and 8th and Arbutus is no longer rezoned or approved for development,” said the Kitsilano Coalition, the group opposing the social housing project.

This ends a yearlong court battle between the municipal government and the Kitsilano Coalition.

After the municipal government announced its plan of rezoning the city-owned site at West 8th Avenue and Arbutus Street in July 2022, the Kitsilano Coalition filed a court suit seeking judicial review of the rezoning.

In December 2024, the BC Court of Appeal ruled in a unanimous decision that the provincial legislation around the proposed development was unconstitutional. The B.C. government had adopted the law at the request of the City of Vancouver in 2023 to push through the proposed 12-storey housing development at Arbutus Street, featuring units open to low‑income residents and users of support services.

Vancouver Coun. Pete Fry explains that the original public hearing preceding the city’s approval of the proposed development was ruled invalid.

“Neighbors and residents had successfully mounted a legal campaign that essentially overruled the public hearing,” Fry said.

City of Vancouver defended rezoning project

Nevertheless, the City of Vancouver defended its rezoning project since the court ruling, with Mayor Ken Sim saying back in February that supportive housing projects, including the project planned for Arbutus Street in Kitsilano, are intended to move ahead.

However, with Monday’s announcement, the municipal government seems to have retreated from this course and consented to the court’s decision of December 2024.

“It looks like this project may not proceed,” confirmed Fry to 1130 NewsRadio.

“Now, he [Mayor Sim] is surrendering on projects that were already well underway,” said OneCity Vancouver councillor Lucy Maloney.

She adds that this decision is a setback, delaying the construction of badly needed supportive housing.

In a statement, the mayor’s office says, “It’s clear this location wasn’t the right fit for the scale and type of housing that was proposed.”

“While we won’t speculate on the future of the site, we fully believe in the important role that both supportive and social housing play in Vancouver’s diverse housing mix,” the statement explained.

“We’ve reached out to the Province to explore options for smaller and better-resourced supportive housing projects to replace the units originally planned for Arbutus and 7th/8th. We have not yet received a response.”

The Kitsilano Coalition says that the project would have been an inefficient and ineffective use of city-owned land and funding The organization adds that they are encouraged by initial discussions with Sim’s office and city staff to develop a better, community-supported solution.

The organization hopes this marks the end of legal proceedings in this matter.